Accessibility links

Breaking News
Iran's interior minister said President Hassan Rohani -- seen casting his ballot on May 19 -- won reelection with around 57 percent of the vote, easily avoiding a runoff.
Iran's interior minister said President Hassan Rohani -- seen casting his ballot on May 19 -- won reelection with around 57 percent of the vote, easily avoiding a runoff.

Live Blog: Rohani Declared Winner Of Iran Vote

Updated

-- Iranian officials have declared President Hassan Rohani winner of the May 19 vote with around 57 percent of ballots, easily avoiding a runoff against conservative former prosecutor Ebrahim Raisi, who was said to have received about 38.5 percent of votes cast.

-- In a victory speech, Rohani said the Iranian people were the "real victors" of the election and that Iran had chosen "engagement with the world" in voting for him, rejecting extremism. But as Rohani knows very well, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei holds ultimate political, military, and religious power in Iran, and can easily derail a campaign or thwart the plans of a president.

-- Six men were approved to run by the Guardians Council from more than 1,600 applicants, but it quickly boiled down to a two-man race between Raisi and Rohani, an establishment veteran who oversaw a breakthrough nuclear deal with world powers to ease sanctions and pushed for engagement with the West and greater openness for Iranians.

-- Raisi has long been talked about as a possible successor to Khamenei, and it's unclear what effect a landslide loss might have on his political ambitions.

*NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Tehran (GMT +4 1/2)

19:37 19.5.2017

19:27 19.5.2017

This just in from Reuters:

Voting Ends In Iran Presidential Election -- State TV

DUBAI, May 19 (Reuters) - Voting has ended in Iran's presidential election, state television reported.

"Voting has ended in the election. But those voters still in line will be directed into the polling station and can cast their vote until 12 a.m. local time(7:30 pm GMT,)," a caption on state television reported.

Reporting by Parisa Hafezi, editing by William Maclean
19:10 19.5.2017

19:09 19.5.2017

19:00 19.5.2017

A protest in Brussels against what demonstrators call a "fake election:"

18:55 19.5.2017

18:55 19.5.2017

A tweet from a reporter with the BBC Persian Service:

18:35 19.5.2017

It looks like former hard-line President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, who was barred from running in this election, has cast his ballot:

18:11 19.5.2017

Voting has now been extended for a third time by another hour to 11 p.m. local time (6:30 p.m. GMT)

  • DUBAI, May 19 (Reuters) - Millions of Iranians queued up to vote on Friday, showing strong turnout in an unexpectedly tight election pitting President Hassan Rouhani, who wants to normalise ties with the West, against a hardline judge who says he has already gone too far.
  • Voting was extended by at least five hours to 11 p.m. (1830 GMT) because many people were still waiting in line, state television reported. Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli said that by law voting could not be extended beyond midnight.

Read more here.

18:00 19.5.2017

Hmm...

Load more

XS
SM
MD
LG